MacConnell: The logical choice

Rutgers is only a couple of weeks from playing a bowl game in Alabama. Rutgers is only a couple of months from football signing day for incoming recruits. Basketball season is only a few months from completion.

It’s the holiday season, for crying out loud.

Did Rutgers Director of Athletics Robert Mulcahy really have to be told Wednesday that he has just a couple of weeks before retirement?

Rutgers President Richard McCormick could have handled this situation much better. He could have waited until the school year was out. At the very least he should have had an interim A.D. ready to move right in.

And all he had to do was walk into that office and turn left instead of right. All he had to do was tell Kevin MacConnell that his title of Deputy Director of Athletics no longer needed the word Deputy.

And in my opinion, when the search finally ends for Mulcahy’s replacement, it is more than logical that MacConnell be the new sheriff in town.

He is a Rutgers graduate, and he has held just about every position possible in the athletics department at the state university.

Before coming to Rutgers in 1986, MacConnell held three jobs at which he answered to Charlie Theokas. The kid worked in public relations when Theokas was General Manager of the New Jersey Nets, Vice President of the New Jersey Generals and Commissioner of the Atlantic 10 Conference.

A long-time fan of Rutgers, he is also a fan of MacConnell’s.

A straight shooter, Theokas is also a realist.

“He certainly is very, very qualified,” he said of MacConnell. “”He’s been in the business 20-plus years, and has a clear understanding of what the needs of the director of athletics are at any major university.”

Theokas also knows that being associated with Mulcahy for so long could work against
MacConnell.

“”Therein lies the question, and the question is what’s the philosophy of central administration and how do they want to go about it. Should he be penalized for being part of the success of the program? I don’t think so. Should he be rewarded? He’s a Rutgers person. He bleeds Rutgers, he knows Rutgers, he knows where all the bodies are burried. He knows how to get things done.

“”Now, the question is what kind of profile are they looking for in the person coming in? I don’t know that. I don’t know if anybody knows that. You know I’m a Rutgers person. My son (Michael) graduated from there. In fact I’m wearing a Rutgers jacket right now,” he said via phone. “”And I’m wearing it because I do that.”

Hollis Copeland also wears, and bleeds, Scarlet. He has a bit more insight being on the inside of the university.

Recognized more for his glory days as a starter on the Final Four men’s basketball team in 1975-76, he is a member of the Rutgers Board of Trustees and was on the nine-man Athletics Review Committee. A 35-page report censured McCormick for lax leadership in dealing with athletic department spending.

It should be noted that in the report Mulcahy was found to have committed no wrongdoing. But that apparently was in the small print.

My esteemed colleague Keith Sargeant caught up with Copeland Thursday, and the New York stockbroker shared his thoughts on the situation.

“You have this month to work with, but you have to work diligently to isolate a strong candidate for this position. So I think with the turn of the year, if you have someone strong in place, we can turn the page. He’s coming into a real tough situation,” Copeland said of the replacement. “”It’s almost like, to make an analogy, Obama. He’s coming into a tough situation, but you can’t run and hide. You have to address what’s there to be addressed.

“”I think Kevin would be a strong candidate because Kevin knows the ins and outs. He’s here. He’s been here for a while, so he knows the ins and outs and he’s privy to the mistakes. I think Kevin would want to cast his own shadow,” Copeland added. “”I like Kevin, love him. I think he’s a great guy. I think he’s smart, I think he has the where-with-all to do it. And he won’t make the same mistakes.”

Hopefully neither will Rutgers.

About Paul Franklin

A constant presence in the local sports writing scene, Paul Franklin has covered Rutgers sports on and off for more than 30 years. While it is not true that he attended Paul Robeson's final game in 1918, he nonetheless has covered games during the the tenures of six head football coaches at RU. He currently is covering high school basketball for the Home News Tribune and Courier News.

If everything was so lovy dovey why the firing?… Methinks the storm is about to blow long and hard where we, the taxpayer,will be looking at another UMDNJ debacle. Yes there are some talented young athletes at Rutgers, but when an institution of higher learning places sports above education we all lose. I think Mr. Mulchahy’s win at all cost teaches the wrong thing for the school especially in a state where corruption in government is the norm.

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About the Author

Jerry CarinoJerry Carino has covered sports for the Gannett New Jersey newspapers since 1996 and has been on the college basketball beat since 2003. A native of Old Bridge, he also teaches journalism at Kean University.E-mail Jerry

Josh NewmanJosh Newman has worked for the Press since September 2004 and began covering Shore Conference sports full time in September 2006. He is a 2004 graduate of Springfield College with a degree in communications/sports journalism.E-mail Josh

Ryan DunleavyRyan Dunleavy has covered Rutgers athletics for more than a decade, dating back to his days as a student at his alma mater. He became New Jersey Press Media’s Rutgers women’s basketball beat writer in 2009 and Rutgers football beat writer in 2013. Since joining the staff in 2004, the Morris County native also has covered the NFL, MLB, NBA, the Somerset Patriots and high school sports.E-mail Ryan